


Be The Hero You Always Have Been

by cazmalfoy



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 15:08:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5875552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even Superheroes need a pep talk occasionally. Lucky for newly-awake Barry, he happens to know one in a green hood who can help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be The Hero You Always Have Been

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you're ill and awake at 3.30am. Especially when you've been reading almost every Barry/Oliver story on AO3.
> 
> This is set after Barry wakes up in the Flash 1x01, and contains no spoilers beyond the scene with Oliver on the roof.

From where he was standing a few feet away from Barry it would have been impossible to not notice the panicked look on the younger mans face. 

It was surreal to see him so flustered, Oliver thought to himself. Not that he had any idea how calm and composed the other man could be. They'd spent barely a week together since meeting; admittedly it had been a pretty hectic week. 

But even the most unobservant of people would have been able to tell that there was something bothering the brunet.

"I can't do this, Oliver." His voice sounded so small it actually hurt deep in Oliver's chest to listen. "I'm not like you. I can't be a masked vigilante."

Ah, so that was the reason Barry had called him. He had to admit, he had been more than a little surprised when his phone had chirped and the caller had introduced themselves as Barry Allen. He almost hadn't turned up to the random rooftop Barry had selected, but now he was glad he had. Barry needed something Oliver had never had at hand when he had first taken up the hood. A friend who knew what he was going through and who understood the helplessness he felt when he couldn't save everyone. 

"So don't be a vigilante." Barry frowned and damn Oliver for thinking it was cute; they had more pressing things to think about than Oliver's bisexuality which hadn't been an issue for half a decade. Instead, he ploughed ahead, "You have an amazing opportunity ahead of you, Barry. You don't have to be a vigilante to help people. Just be the hero the people need; the hero I could never be for my city."

Those words make Barry frown even deeper than before and he takes a step closer automatically. "You are a hero, Oliver," he insisted and this time it was Oliver who couldn’t stop the frown creasing his forehead. "You wouldn't be able to do what you do if you didn't feel some level of compassion for the people you're rescuing. That's what a hero is, isn't it? Someone who cares so passionately about their cause and the people they're trying to protect."

It sounded like such a simple concept but it wasn't something Oliver was willing to address yet. He had been back from Lian Yu for almost three years, but there were some days when it felt like he'd just been rescued the day before. Oliver Queen was an expert at ignoring his true feelings; even before he'd been shipwrecked, it had been a skill he'd mastered pretty quickly. 

Barry was closer now than he had been and Oliver scolded himself mentally; rule number one of vigilante survival was to never let your guard down, and he was already starting to develop a worrying habit of doing that around the young CSI. 

"If you're serious about helping people, you might want to take your own advice." Another frown and Oliver continued, "Wear a mask."

A soft laugh escaped Barry's lips and that was the moment Oliver realised exactly how close they were. There was barely more than a foot of space between them. 

Oliver's instinctive reaction was to take a step back. Doing anything else would be a complication neither of them needed right then. But then he'd never been good at trusting his instincts. 

Instead, he switched his bow from his right to his left hand and brought the now free, dominant hand up to run his gloved fingers through Barry's windswept hair. 

Almost of their own accord, Barry's eyes flickered closed and he leant into the touch, a soft smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

When their lips met, a sigh sounded on the night air and Oliver was positive it actually came from himself. He didn't put his hood down - they were still in public, after all - but that didn't seem to bother Barry, who seemed more than intent to join Oliver under the cowl than he was to push it down. 

Oliver had no idea where this was going to end up - probably nowhere good - but Barry was relaxed for the first time since Oliver had joined him.

For now, stealing a kiss on a darkened rooftop when Barry needed to be talked down would have to suffice. 


End file.
